A Cascading Ripple
by Lilac Prima Donna
Summary: Amu wanted only his company on her special day... And probably every other day too.


**A Cascading Ripple**

"Ikuto, where do these go?"

"Nowhere. Just leave them, Amu."

Papers fluttered back onto the wooden desk. She sighed inwardly and glared at the back of the lanky class president. With a grimace on her face, she continued to shuffle around the room for something to do. After wandering some more and finding nothing, Amu sat down on the classroom floor and leaned against the poster-covered wall.

Staring blankly at the neat handwriting on the whiteboard, Amu once again decided her position as vice president useless and a waste of time. Instead of helping Ikuto, she was aimlessly walking in circles and wasting her time. She scanned the room for the tousled blue hair belonging to her said accomplice, who was carrying papers to file. A paper drifted from the pile, making her walk over to pluck it off the floor.

Once Amu retrieved it from the carpeted floor, Ikuto came up from behind and held out his hand. Then he patted her on the head.

Thetired and equally annoyed girl twitched before giving a small smile as she glanced at the calendar behind him. Today was the 24th. Her birthday was today. So why spend all this time after school with him instead of celebrating the big day? Simple. He's her best friend.

'My only friend, unfortunately,' Amu thought wistfully.

_"Hey, are you okay?"_

_Teary-eyed, a 7-year old Amu Hinamori looked up to a slightly concerned boy then gazed down at her drenched hands. Knowing she was revealing her vulnerability, Amu brought her legs out of their crouched position to bring her knees up to her face._

_She was hiding. From the people. From the world. An escape from reality. To escape from it all..._

_In actuality, she was struck down from the fact that she had nobody to celebrate her special day with._

_"You know..." and she reluctantly lifted her head to see the figure crouch in the dim lighting. "If beauty were time, you'd be eternity."_

_"... What does that mean?"_

_"Don't ask me. My dad said that to my mom, and she laughed," he slowly explained, "so you should laugh too..."_

_Her spirits began to lift at his attention, and Amu smiled shyly at him. "It's Amu. Thanks."_

_And he gave her a lopsided grin._

"-ey. Hey. Amu. Amu."

Said girl broke out of her trance, looking right into deep azure eyes.

Startled, the vice president widened her eyes and jumped up. Ikuto chuckled then declared, "We're done."

Amu rolled her eyes and stretched before picking up her bags to wait for him near the door. As usual, Ikuto was taking his time putting his belongings into his backpack. Of course, he claimed to be stalling so that he could spend more time with her. And she involuntarily blushed at the thought. As if...

Once he was done, he strolled over to where Amu stood impatiently. The mischievous class president proceeded to grin down at her with a glint in his eye, which made the vice president squint at him with suspicion. Keeping her eyes on him for the moment, Amu reached into her messenger bag for the multiple keys held together with a ring. Upon discovering that she didn't have them in her bag, the oh-so responsible vice president offered her hand, palm faced up, to him. She cleared her throat to catch his attention, which was already on her, and wiggled her fingers.

His eyes gleamed with amusement, "Aww, Amu wants me to hold her hand? Why didn't you say so?"

Amu sighed with exasperation. "Ikuto. Come on. The keys."

"Hm... I don't know what you're talking about." He kept his eyes on her and raised his eyebrow in false confusion. Then, as if struck with realization, he held up a set of keys previously hidden behind his back. "These ones?"

Amu shook her head in disapproval and reached for them. Teasingly, he pulled away and stepped back, stretching as far as his already-above-average height could go. Already drained, her arms languidly made their way above her in an attempt to grab them from him.

Using his shoulders for leverage, Amu stood on her toes to nearly graze a key with her fingertips... but it didn't allow her to snatch them away from the key thief. No matter how much Amu jumped with her remaining energy, Ikuto seemed to grow taller and her keys more distant.

The now irritated vice president pounced once more, amber eyes glued to her goal, and they fell together. She triumphantly seized the ring of keys and shifted her gaze to Ikuto. In lecture mode, she began to talk his ear off about taking her stuff again but stopped mid-sentence. Their faces were inches apart, and she felt his heartbeat quicken, matching her own.

More awake than ever, she looked from side to side before he smirked at her, "Do you have a map? 'Cause I'm lost in your eyes."

Amu scoffed at the ridiculous pick up line before smiling a little, "You never change."

"Really now... then should I say, 'If beauty were time, you'd be eternity.'?"

A wave of warm nostalgia hit her, and she laughed, saying, "Yeah..." She drifted off, fondly reminiscing her childhood.

"You laughed."

"I did."

With his eyes on her, Ikuto pulled out a beautifully decorated box from his pocket and presented it to Amu. The girl looked at it curiously before taking it into her own hands.

Ikuto leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead, whispering, "Happy birthday, Amu."

Her vision blurred and she smiled wider.

"Thanks, Ikuto."

_My special friend..._

* * *

**Right... This was for her birthday. Yay. Happy belated bday, Amu~ x3**

**Oh, and this is my first upload ever. Celebrate. xD**

**Questions, comments, or concerns? c:**


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